Man who defrauded 3 states gets nearly 5 years in prison

by Associated Press

A California man from Russia charged with using stolen identification from Russian immigrants to file fraudulent unemployment claims in Iowa and two other states has been sentenced to four years and nine months in prison. (MGN Online)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A California man from Russia charged with using stolen identification from Russian immigrants to file fraudulent unemployment claims in Iowa and two other states has been sentenced to four years and nine months in prison.

Court documents filed in U.S. District Court in Iowa on Monday say Nikolai Monastyrski also must repay Illinois more than $230,000, Iowa more than $114,000 and Pennsylvania $46,000.

He earlier pleaded guilty to all charges contained in a 14-count indictment alleging wire fraud and mail fraud.

A November 2016 federal complaint says Monastyrski ran an operation out of an apartment in Folsom, California, in which he filed for unemployment claims on behalf of nonexistent companies using the personal information of at least 75 Russian immigrants who had been in the U.S. on temporary visas.